Lexington Tourism Authority discusses contract with chamber

With the executive director's position vacant, the Lexington Tourism Authority Board of Directors is looking at several administrative options.

But the group took no action at its meeting Tuesday afternoon, which included a closed session for the purpose of discussing attorney-client privilege and personnel. No action was taken.

When Greta Lint, the first executive director of the Lexington Tourism Authority, resigned in late October to pursue other interests, board members said they would launch a search for a new executive director. But since then the board has not advertised for a replacement and is weighing other options for the implementation of the board's mission.

Robin Bivens, chairman of the LTA board, said the executive committee members needed to brief the full board on what developments had been made in finding a new executive director and other options for administration of the program that are being considered.

"We need to inform them of all the options we're pursuing," Bivens said prior to the closed session of the board meeting.

One option under consideration is to contract with the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce to administer the program, which was done when the LTA was initially established in 1995.

"The chamber has approached us," Bivens said.

Brenda Durham, executive director of the chamber, as well as John Wicker, past chairman, and Mike Turlington, the new chairman, attended the meeting to discuss the proposal with the full LTA board in the closed session.

"With the position vacant, we're looking at all options," said John Gray, secretary-treasurer of the board and city manager.

"We're keeping some of the programs going with volunteers and one employee," Gray said, referring to Gerri Hartley, who was hired this past summer to be the manager of the Visitor Information Center and is now the sole employee.

Lint was hired in September 1999 as executive director of the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau, which was then the marketing arm of the Lexington Tourism Authority. The two organizations were merged about a year ago.

During her tenure, the LTA won several statewide awards from the N.C. Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus for its promotional efforts and established its first Visitor Information Center on North Main Street in November 1999. This past June, the center relocated into part of the chamber building on East Center Street after its former location on North Main Street was sold.

The move back into the chamber building meant a return of the LTA to its origins. The then Lexington CVB contracted with the Lexington chamber to operate and house that organization from its inception until Lint was hired. The separation of the LTA from the chamber in 1999 came at a time when the chamber's then executive director, Carole Woodward, and the first tourism manager, Marilois Smith, who was in that position less than a year, both resigned within weeks of each other as the chamber was in turmoil over its leadership and considered merging into a countywide organization.

But Turlington said the individuals involved in those positions then and on both boards are different now. He also noted that many CVBs are administered through chamber organizations.

"It's not without precedent in other communities," he said.

"We think there're enough commonalties between the two organizations that it would seem to be a good fit," Turlington said of the chamber's talks with the LTA. "The overall expertise of the chamber staff could be extended, and we think it could be done effectively and efficiently. But nothing's been decided yet."

Bob McCoy, past president of the N.C. Association of CVBs and current president and chief executive officer of the Winston-Salem CVB, said having an organization such as the LTA move back under the umbrella of a chamber would be unusual. He said it's common for CVBs, especially those organized less than five or 10 years, to be affiliated with chambers, but many eventually separate because of different agendas.

"Only 7 percent of CVBs in the U.S. are affiliated with chambers," McCoy said.

In Winston-Salem, the CVB was affiliated with the chamber there until January 1998, when it severed its ties with the chamber. McCoy, who headed the CVB then, said he was caught in the middle of serving two different boards - the chamber's and the CVB's - who had different ideas of how the two organizations should accomplish their goals.

"Having lived that, I can tell you it was difficult," he said of power struggles between the two boards. "It did boil down to money. They had different ideas on how the money should be spent."

McCoy said CVBs and chambers do have similar missions, but their interpretation of what constitutes tourism promotion can differ, and they both have their own audience. Chambers are privately funded, primarily by membership dues, and accountable only to their membership while CVBs have a dedicated revenue source in the form of motel occupancy taxes, which are public funds. The LTA budget for the current fiscal year is based on a projected annual collection of $200,000 in occupancy taxes.

McCoy said the use of such public funds needs to remain 100 percent transparent, whether the chamber is contracted for administrative operations or not.

"The accountability issues need to be understood by everybody," he added.

While he has seen the pitfalls in CVBs contracting out their operations, McCoy said it is possible for the situation to benefit both organizations - as long as both boards are clear on who has responsibility for what and agree on how to spend the public funds.

"I couldn't characterize it one way or the other without knowing the local situation," he said. "But if standing together makes them stronger than standing apart, and they clearly define their roles and stick to their missions, it can work. I think if they hash it out beforehand, that can be very helpful. ... Everybody these days is looking to partner. I do know you have a good product."

The board also is not actively seeking to fill two recently vacated seats on the LTA board until a decision is made on the administrative organization. Former chairman Sherman Cook resigned in October because he sold his business, P&B Travels, and so would no longer represent a travel agency, which is required by the LTA bylaws. Another member's term expired. Bivens became chairman when Cook resigned.

The bylaws require two representatives of travel agencies, a hotel representative, the city manager, a city council representative, a chamber appointee, two representatives of attractions/events and one at-large representative to serve on the board.

Vikki Broughton Hodges can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 214, or at vikki.hodges@the-dispatch.com.